Contest winner will get downtown Reno shop

A "micro-space" retail spot at Arlington Towers is one prize in the "Biggest Little Storefront" business competition. Organizers hope to start taking entries this fall.(Photo: Yvonne Beasley/RGJ)Buy Photo

Krysta Jackson wants to shop in downtown Reno. So she's starting a business competition to get more stores there.

Jackson, 29, is working on the "Biggest Little Storefront" to help launch at least one downtown shop.

"I love hanging out downtown, especially for Artown, but there's not a lot of retail there so there's not a lot of reason to hang out there," Jackson said.

Planning has just begun for the competition, which is patterned after a successful Sacramento program. Applications will open later this month.

Participants will have access to mentors and workshops, working toward a "click-and-mortar" business — that is, a retail website with a physical store.

The competition's winner will get, among other things, retail space for up to a year in downtown Reno. One landlord has already committed to providing that space, Jackson said.

The current prize would be a "microspace" at Arlington Towers. While the specific spot hasn't been identified yet, Jackson said there 250 square feet would qualify as "micro."

The Arlington Towers storefront is the first in what organizers hope will be several donated downtown spaces, Jackson said.

The contest will work like other business competitions, such as the Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition sponsored by the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno, where Jackson is a graduate student.

She also has an internship supporting the Reno Angels, a local investor group.

Jackson said she hopes a minimum of 30 varied companies will apply.

"We're leaving it open. We want to see what will be best supported by the area," Jackson said.

Jackson said she's been surprised at how fast the idea took off.

"I think it's something people were hungry for. I know I'm hungry for it. With the rebuilding of the river and historic downtown, I hope for it to be a place where I want to go."

Because the space up for grabs will be built out for retail, food-and-drink businesses won't be in the running. Neither will shops selling adult products, such as head shops or X-rated material.

The goal of Biggest Little Storefront is to help people start an online retail business, regardless of whether they eventually end up with a physical storefront.